Where to Study: Group Edition

​Let’s get one thing clear: no one likes group projects. It’s
impossible to find a time when everyone is available to meet. There’s always
either someone who does nothing or someone who tries to do everything. If
you’re lucky, you might even have one of those people in your group who asks a
thousand questions or that one person that does all of their work, but does it
all wrong. You can never decide on a place to meet up. Now I may not be able to
help you with your annoying group members, but I’ve come up with a list of the
best places for groups to study on campus.

I'm always at the library (and not just because I work there).Probably the most obvious place to study is the library. All
four floors of the library have tons of tables and chairs and desks, but for
group work, definitely stick to the first two floors. Each floor of the library
is supposed to get quieter as you go up and you don’t want to be that group
that everyone else on the floor complains about. If you want to talk as a
group, but don’t want to be distracted by everyone around you talking, you can
reserve one of the study rooms in the library.

If your group is working primarily on your computers, try
out one of the media:scape tables on the first floor of the library if you
haven’t already. While you can reserve the media:scape tables in the
Information Commons on the first floor of the library, the media:scape tables
in the Scholar’s Lab in the library are first come, first serve. Each
media:scape table has one or two big monitors, either a PC or a PC and a Mac,
and a bunch of connection cables for laptops. After everyone plugs their
laptops into the media:scape table, you can switch which screen is displayed on
the monitor with the push of a button. It’s especially amazing for doing
research as a group. Whenever someone finds a really helpful source, they can
push the button and everyone can see that same source up on the big screen.

The media:scape tables could not be better for when your group has to make a PowerPoint.

If your group is a little more casual, or you’re just
studying for a test with a bunch of people, the SAC Pit is the place to go. While
the SAC Pit is super busy during the morning and early afternoon, it quiets
down and turns into a great place to study. If you’re looking for somewhere
quieter during the day, you can just go up to meet at one of the tables on the
second, third, or fourth floor of Levan Center, which is connected to the SAC.
The tables are right next to huge windows, which obviously provide tons of
light, and aren’t used nearly as often as they should be.

nd Letters Hall​, right across the street from Levan Center and the SAC. All
four floors of Arts and Letters have different arrangements of tables, couches,
and chairs that make studying a lot more comfortable.​ That being said, I get distracted way more often in Arts and Letters than I do anywhere else, so I can only study here when I'm feeling particularly motivated. It's one of the most popular places to meet for group work, so good luck finding a table during the day.